The engineers will support lecturers by bringing frontline industrial knowledge and experience to the classroom.
The VTE programme, which runs from 2016-18, is also designed to provide role models and encourage women studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to pursue careers as professional engineers and technicians. Currently, seven times as many men as women teach engineering in FE colleges.
Dr Rhys Morgan, the RAE’s director of engineering and education, said: “In order to maintain the UK’s capabilities and support economic recovery, engineering employers will need to recruit 182,000 people with engineering skills every year. Currently, there is a shortfall of 69,000 advanced technicians and engineers a year.
“To bridge this gap it is essential that more women are encouraged to become engineers. We are most grateful to the Motorola Solutions Foundation for supporting the VTE programme which we are sure will set a benchmark and encourage similar initiatives.”
Research by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, reported in its Profile of the science, engineering and technology teaching workforce in the college sector in England, found there to be seven times as many men as women among those FE engineering teachers who responded.
According to the latest Engineering UK analysis, engineering companies are projected to need 182,000 people with engineering skills each year to 2022. The UK faces a shortage of around 69,000 advanced technicians a year.
